PALMER HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS CELEBRATE 75 YEARS OF MARRIAGE
A STORY OF FAITH, FAMILY…AND A WHOLE LOT OF FUN!
Wallace and Rosemary (Clopton) Hughey
married in Palmer, Texas, on February 3,
1951. Wallace was born on June 9, 1929,
and Rosemary on August 2. 1931, and were
delivered by the same doctor. Both of their families
settled in Ellis County in the 1800s. The couple has
been blessed with three children: Wally Jr., Larry,
and Gay. They have five grandchildren and six great-
grandchildren. Wallace retired as a regional sales
manager of Campbell Soup in 1990, and they have
traveled extensively over the past 36 years. Wallace
also served as active Mayor of Palmer for about six
years from 1992-1998, giving him the opportunity to
also experience Washington DC in action. Wallace,
96, and Rosemary, 94, are still active members at the
Grace Baptist Church in Palmer. They celebrated
their 75th anniversary with family and friends in
February, and a recent phone call sharing their
backstory offers some positive advice and wisdom
from their successful marriage!
WALLACE (he said…)I’m sitting over here in Ennis on a couch waiting for
my turn to get a haircut. We are at Tisha’s. Nice folks.
Rosemary is in the chair now, and I’m next. We go
every Friday. I’ll tell you how we first met, and then
I’ll pass the phone and let her share her side of the
story!
I first saw Rosemary when she was 14. Palmer was a
small high school. On a side note, my family settled in Palmer in 1886, and we knew most of the people
around. I was a senior and remember complaining
to my Mom: “There are just not ANY girls here at
this school. Not ANY!” I was an athlete, and we
had a senior banquet. The sophomore girls, dressed
in Hawaiian-style costumes, had decorated with a
tropical theme and served our food. Mom noticed
Rosemary and pointed her out to me. “Hey—what
about that cute little Clopton girl?” Well, I was shy,
but I decided to follow her around and got interested
from afar. I finally asked her to the school dance.
Her father knew my grandfather, who owned the
local grocery store and considered him a fine man,
and I received the approval.
Of course, we didn’t have a telephone, and she lived
out in the country. Her family had settled the Rockett
area around 1840. In fact, her grandmother saw
one of the last bears in that thicket area. The road
conditions between our homes were so bad that I
couldn’t physically reach her, so I wrote and mailed
letters to her. Only her name and town were needed on the envelope! I mailed fifty-some odd letters
calling her “Sweetheart,” “Darling,” etc., only to find out her mother was reading them first! I was
determined to see Rosemary. I even rode a horse
over, and eventually I bought a Model A to go see
her, and we would play games for entertainment. If I
went to the picture show in Palmer, I would write to
her about it. I gave her a radio as a gift because that
was a big deal back then! I knew I wanted to marry her. I tried to put a ring on her finger in high school!
When I graduated and joined the Air Force, I
continued to write to her from San Antonio while I
was in basic training. I was still set on marrying her. Although I was her first date, she dated others when I was away. I came back from San Antonio with a
new convertible and wearing a uniform. The uniform
did the job! “You marry me, and you’re going to go
to Europe, wear a fur coat, and drive a Cadillac!” I
stood there saying those words to Rosemary, and as a
young man in basic training, I had no idea how I was
going to make that happen. But God had a plan. She
said “yes,” and all three of those promises I made
that day came true in the years that followed.
We had wonderful years as a family with our three
kids. Rosemarywas such a great homemaker.She was
so talented and very artistic. She enjoyed ceramics
and also loved painting animals. I was active in the
Lions Club and the Palmer Preservation Society.
We’ve traveled quite a bit, and Yosemite really stands
out as a favorite trip of ours in America. Our travels
included about 25 cruises and one transatlantic trip.
We were with a tour group and made numerous trips
to Europe, including Paris, London, Rome, Ireland,
Scotland, Berlin (we chipped the wall!), and the
French Riviera. I have a fun story about Paris. One
night, we were watching a show and sitting up front.
I told Rosemary, if I get a chance…I’m going to get
up on that stage! Well, guess what? A French gal
grabbed me out of the audience, and I was grinning
like a possum. I stepped onto the table, then onto the
stage, and danced. Not like Fred Astaire, but more
like a corkscrew. Someone yelled, “How is it you
Texans have a ‘little extra’?!” Applause determined
the winner, and I won, hands down! My birthday
was the next day, and it was one heck of a way to
celebrate! On our Israel trip, it was amazing to walk
where Christ walked. We got into the Dead Sea and
then explored high above it at Masada. Many people
in their later years wish they had traveled more. We
really feel blessed that we made it happen, and we
both encourage others to travel.
Life at 75 years of blissful marriage? Faith, family, and
a whole lot of fun! We get out every day and have a
good time, whether that means going to church, hanging
out with our family, or checking our stock ponds. We
try to stay appreciative and positive, even if we have
to do things like go to the hospital. I got a Pacemaker
recently and I had to go from Waxahachie Baylor to Big
Baylor. People at the hospitals couldn’t have been nicer.
Gratitude and looking for the best in life are important to
us. I was in sales for all those years and nobody wants to
be around negative people. Instead, stay happy and on top
of the world! Wisdom and advice? Well, like I said—I fell
in love with Rosemary when she was 14. Got married at
19. True love! It seems a lot of people “get married to get
married,” but for us, it was, and still is, true love. We laugh
a lot; we hug a lot. Even at this age—we keep holding
hands.
ROSEMARY (she said…same!)
We have never, ever had any big problems because we
just love each other so much! Wallace is so very loving
and kind, and I return that love. I can honestly say that we
have a beautiful marriage founded in genuine love, which
stemmed from our first meeting at his senior banquet in
school. The sophomore girls, wearing grass skirts and
serving food, were noticed by Wallace’s mother, who told
him to notice me, and he sure did after that! Since I had
never been on a date, I had to ask my parents’ permission
when he asked if I could go to the school dance. Daddy
mulled it around and said…well…his grandfather is a great
guy. If it weren’t for Papa’s (JW Hughey, Wallace’s grandpa,
who owned a grocery store in Palmer) good reputation, I
might not have been allowed to go to the dance!
We started dating, and although we didn’t live that far
from each other, the poor road conditions often kept us
apart. Wallace kept in communication by writing me so
many letters. My mother kept all the letters and tied them
together, and we used them as part of the centerpiece at
our 75th anniversary celebration in February.
Our marriage is easy! We laugh, kiss, hug, and still hold
hands. I’m not kidding when I say we have so much fun— and I still drive! What is my favorite date? Going out to eat together! We love the Bluebonnet Cafe in Ennis…and
of course—the DQ!
